The discography of American heavy metal band Metallica includes 11 studio albums, one covers album, eight live albums, three extended plays, 49 singles, 10 video albums, 43 music videos, one soundtrack album, one collaboration album and three box sets. They are a San Francisco-based metal band formed in 1981 by James Hetfield (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and Lars Ulrich (drums). After several bassist and lead guitarist changes (including Dave Mustaine), the band settled on Cliff Burton and Kirk Hammett, respectively. Metallica started playing locally, releasing their first widely circulated demo, No Life 'til Leather, in 1982. The demo caught the attention of Johny Zazula, who signed Metallica to Megaforce Records.
The band released Kill 'Em All in 1983, and the following year they released Ride the Lightning. After Ride the Lightning was released, Metallica left Megaforce and signed to Elektra Records. In March 1986, the band released its third studio album, Master of Puppets, which was Metallica's first album to be certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). While promoting the album, Burton was killed in a bus accident; Jason Newsted was hired as a replacement. The band's first release to feature Newsted was The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited EP, and then followed by ...And Justice for All in August 1988, which peaked at number six on the Billboard 200.
Metallica's fifth, self-titled album, often called The Black Album, was released in 1991 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The band embarked on a two-year tour in support of the album. Metallica has since been certified 2× Diamond by the RIAA. Metallica followed with the release of Load and Reload in 1996 and 1997, respectively. Both albums debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. After the release of Garage Inc. (1998) and S&M (1999), Newsted (who would later join Voivod) left the band. Metallica recorded St. Anger without an official bassist (bass parts for the album sessions were played by the band's long-time producer Bob Rock). Bassist Robert Trujillo joined Metallica in 2003. In 2008, the band released their ninth studio album, Death Magnetic, which was produced by Rick Rubin and distributed through Warner Bros. Records. In April 2009, the band's catalogue was released on the iTunes Store as The Metallica Collection. A collaborative album with Lou Reed, Lulu, was released in 2011.
In 2013, Metallica released the movie Metallica: Through the Never and its accompanying soundtrack. Metallica then started writing their 10th studio album, Hardwired... to Self-Destruct, which was released in 2016. It became the band's sixth album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 and topped the charts in 57 countries. Metallica released their 11th studio album, 72 Seasons, in 2023. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, becoming their first album since ...And Justice for All not to debut at number one. Nevertheless, it was their first to debut at number one in the UK since Death Magnetic. Metallica has sold more than 150 million albums worldwide, with over 67 million records in the United States alone (56.3 million albums since 1991 when SoundScan started tracking actual sales figures).
Albums Studio albums + List of studio albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications US AUSPeak chart positions in Australia: Top 100 (Kent Music Report) peaks to June 19, 1988: N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid 1983 and June 19, 1988. Top 50 (ARIA Chart) peaks from June 26, 1988: "Harvester of Sorrow" (ARIA Chart) peak: Top 100 (ARIA Chart) peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: Some Kind of Monster (ARIA Chart) peak: "A Long Nightmare " (ARIA Chart) peak: "Broken, Beat & Scarred" (ARIA Chart) peak: The Big Four: Live from Sofia, Bulgaria (ARIA Chart) peak: "Hardwired": CANPeak chart positions for albums in Canada: All except where noted: Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets: ...And Justice for All: Metallica: Load: Live Shit: Binge & Purge: The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited: FIN* For albums and singles charted in Finland pre-1995: From 1995 to date: GER NOR NZ SWE SWI UKPeak chart positions for albums in the United Kingdom: All except Kill 'Em All: Kill 'Em All: Kill 'Em All Released: July 25, 1983 Label: Megaforce 66 55 66 12 17 — — 28 31 142 US: 4,500,000 RIAA: 4× Platinum ARIA: 2× Platinum BPI: Gold BVMI: Gold MC: Platinum Ride the Lightning Released: July 27, 1984 Label: Megaforce 48 38 50 9 21 40 32 22 35 87 US: 6,950,000 RIAA: 6× Platinum ARIA: 3× Platinum BPI: Platinum BVMI: Platinum MC: Platinum Master of Puppets Released: March 3, 1986 Label: Elektra 29 33 38 5 4 30 33 14 17 41 US: 7,980,000 FIN: 57,647 RIAA: 8× Platinum ARIA: 3× Platinum BPI: Platinum BVMI: Platinum IFPI FIN: Platinum MC: 6× Platinum RMNZ: Platinum ...And Justice for All Released: August 25, 1988 Label: Elektra 6 16 13 1 3 8 36 5 7 4 US: 9,700,000 FIN: 51,051 RIAA: 8× Platinum ARIA: 3× Platinum BPI: Platinum BVMI: 2× Platinum IFPI FIN: Platinum IFPI NOR: Platinum IFPI SWI: Platinum MC: 3× Platinum RMNZ: Platinum Metallica Released: August 12, 1991 Label: Elektra 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 1 1 US: 17,300,000 FIN: 112,856 RIAA: 2× Diamond ARIA: 13× Platinum BPI: 3× Platinum BVMI: 4× Platinum IFPI FIN: 2× Platinum IFPI NOR: 3× Platinum IFPI SWE: Platinum IFPI SWI: 4× Platinum MC: Diamond RMNZ: 12× Platinum Load Released: June 4, 1996 Label: Elektra 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 US: 5,400,000 FIN: 64,384 RIAA: 5× Platinum ARIA: 5× Platinum BPI: Platinum BVMI: 5× Gold IFPI FIN: Platinum IFPI NOR: Platinum IFPI SWE: Platinum MC: 4× Platinum Reload Released: November 18, 1997 Label: Elektra 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 US: 4,480,000 FIN: 45,271 RIAA: 4× Platinum ARIA: 5× Platinum BPI: Gold BVMI: 5× Gold IFPI FIN: Platinum IFPI SWE: Platinum IFPI SWI: Platinum MC: 2× Platinum St. Anger Released: June 5, 2003 Label: Elektra 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 US: 2,000,000 FIN: 35,725 WW: 6,000,000 RIAA: 2× Platinum ARIA: 3× Platinum BPI: Gold BVMI: 2× Platinum IFPI FIN: Platinum IFPI NOR: Platinum IFPI SWE: Platinum IFPI SWI: Platinum MC: 2× Platinum RMNZ: 2× Platinum Death Magnetic Released: September 12, 2008 Label: Warner Bros. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 US: 2,100,000 FIN: 79,415 NOR: 64,000 UK: 330,398 RIAA: 2× Platinum ARIA: 3× Platinum BPI: Platinum BVMI: 5× Gold IFPI FIN: 2× Platinum IFPI SWE: 2× Platinum IFPI SWI: Platinum MC: 4× Platinum RMNZ: 2× Platinum Hardwired... to Self-Destruct Released: November 18, 2016 Label: Blackened 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 US: 1,290,000 UK: 166,492 WW: 2,100,000 RIAA: Platinum ARIA: Platinum BPI: Gold BVMI: 2× Platinum IFPI NOR: Gold IFPI SWE: Platinum MC: 3× Platinum RMNZ: Gold 72 Seasons Released: April 14, 2023 Label: Blackened 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 US: 373,000 BPI: Silver BVMI: Gold "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Cover albums + List of cover albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications US AUS CAN FIN GER NOR NZ SWE SWI UK Garage Inc. Released: November 24, 1998 Label: Elektra 2 2 3 1 1 1 3 1 10 29 US: 3,350,000 FIN: 27,446 RIAA: 5× Platinum ARIA: 3× Platinum BPI: Gold BVMI: Platinum IFPI FIN: Gold IFPI NOR: Gold IFPI SWE: Platinum IFPI SWI: Gold RMNZ: Platinum
Live albums + List of live albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications US AUS CAN FIN GER NOR NZ SWE SWI UK Live Shit: Binge & Purge Released: November 23, 1993 Label: Elektra 26 18 40 — 68 32 — — — 54 RIAA: 21× Platinum BVMI: Gold S&M(with San Francisco Symphony) Released: November 23, 1999 Label: Elektra 2 1 4 2 1 1 11 1 4 33 US: 2,500,000 FIN: 22,831 RIAA: 6× Platinum ARIA: 3× Platinum BPI: Platinum BVMI: 5× Gold IFPI FIN: Gold IFPI SWE: Platinum IFPI SWI: 2× Platinum MC: 3× Platinum RMNZ: 2× Platinum Orgullo, Pasión, y Gloria: Tres Noches en la Ciudad de México Released: November 30, 2009 Label: Universal — — — — — — — — — — Six Feet Down Under Released: September 20, 2010 Label: Warner Bros. — — — — — — — — — — The Big Four: Live from Sofia, Bulgaria (with Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax) Released: November 2, 2010 Label: Warner Bros. — 71 — 31 59 — — — 63 — Six Feet Down Under Part II Released: November 12, 2010 Label: Warner Bros. — — — — — — — — — — Live at Grimey's Released: November 26, 2010 Label: Universal — — — — — — — — — — Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, Metallica! Released: April 16, 2016 Label: Blackened — — — — — — — — — — Helping Hands...Live & Acoustic at the Masonic Released: February 1, 2019 Label: Blackened — — — — — — — — — — Live in Chile (1993 – 2017) Released: April 15, 2020 Label: Blackened — — — — — — — — — — Live in Argentina (1993 – 2017) Released: April 18, 2020 Label: Blackened — — — — — — — — — — Live in Brazil (1993 – 2017) Released: April 21, 2020 Label: Blackened — — — — — — — — — — S&M2(with San Francisco Symphony) Released: August 28, 2020 Label: Blackened 4 1 4 3 1 6 7 7 2 2 BVMI: Gold "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Soundtrack albums + List of soundtrack albums, with selected chart positions Title Album details Peak chart positions US AUS AUT CAN FIN GER NZ SWE SWI UK Metallica: Through the Never Released: September 24, 2013 Label: Blackened 9 16 4 9 11 6 11 30 16 36
Collaboration albums + List of collaboration albums, with selected chart positions Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales US AUS AUT CAN FIN GER NZ SWE SWI UK Lulu (with Lou Reed) Released: October 31, 2011 Label: Warner Bros. 36 33 25 16 6 11 12 9 14 36 WW: 280,000
Tribute albums + List of tribute albums, with selected chart positions Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications US CAN FIN UK Plays Metallica by Four Cellos Released: May 13, 1996 Label: Mercury/PolyGram — — 7 — FIN: 23,303 FIN: Platinum A Tribute to the Four Horsemen Released: December 2, 2002 Label: Nuclear Blast — — — — The Metallica Blacklist Released: September 10, 2021 Label: Blackened 103 44 48 27
Extended plays + List of extended plays, with selected chart positions and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications US AUS AUT CAN FIN GER NZ SPA SWI UK The $5.98 E.P. / $9.98 CD: Garage Days Re-Revisited Released: August 21, 1987 Label: Elektra 18 69 16 40 — 10 — 12 62 27 RIAA: Platinum IFPI FIN: Gold MC: Gold Some Kind of Monster Released: July 13, 2004 Label: Elektra 37 — — — — — — — — — Beyond Magnetic Released: December 13, 2011 Label: Warner Bros. 29 19 30 15 2 22 22 25 — — M72 World Tour: Mexico City Released: March 13, 2025 Label: Blackened — — — — — — — — — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Box sets + List of box sets, with selected chart positions Title Album details Peak chart positions UK The Good, the Bad & the Live Released: May 7, 1990 Label: Vertigo 56 Limited-Edition Vinyl Box Set Released: November 23, 2004 Label: Rhino — The Metallica Collection Released: April 14, 2009 Label: Warner Bros. — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Singles 1980s + List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album US USMain.Rock AUS GER NLD NOR NZ SWE SWI UKPeak chart positions for singles in the United Kingdom: All except "The Judas Kiss": "The Judas Kiss": "Lords of Summer": "Hardwired": "Whiplash" 1983 — — — — — — — — — — Kill 'Em All "Jump in the Fire" 1984 — — — — — — 30 — — — "Creeping Death" — — — — — — — — — — RIAA: Gold ARIA: Gold